The Second Favorite Son

Dan's first novel, alternate american civil war history.

Nominated for the Sidewise Award for alternate history novels, Dan's first book, the impeccably researched and widely acclaimed, The Second Favorite Son, is into its second printing and still selling on the shelves in the USA.

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Hazard Press (June 1, 2004)
Paperback: 429 pages, English
ISBN-10: 187727044X
ISBN-13: 978-1877270444

When Straughan Packard III dies suddenly, control of the family empire should have passed to his firstborn son, the princely Straughan IV-but since Junior's mysterious disappearance, the job has fallen to the second son, the free-spirited and ill-prepared JD Packard.

In a world where the South has emerged victorious in the War Between the States, plantations have evolved into corporate empires, the men who run them hold the reins of almost unlimited power, and history and tradition rule. But, as JD Packard learns, once caught in a web of hostile corporate takeovers, forbidden love, living by 'The Code,' and murder, it's not easy changing the world unless we're willing to answer for our history, and be ready to pay for it.

For Dexter Peebles, a private investigator and descendant of former Packard slaves himself, trying to discover the truth behind Junior's disappearance means uncovering a past that is full of ghosts: seems somebody is killing the Packards off and has been for a long, long time. And there's at least one left.

In this sweeping tale, The Second Favorite Son unfolds two hundred years of the Packard family saga as the present becomes deeply entangled in the past. It is a story of murder, honor, betrayal and memories that return to haunt. But mostly, it's about family, and the kind of love only a truly dysfunctional family can understand.

What people are saying about The Second Favorite Son

Myers uncovers the grim realities of past, present and future with great restraint, deftness of both structure and language, and a keen eye for geographical detail, and his depictions of the land, his feel for the seasons and his brilliant grasp of the phonetics of the region are truly wonderful. Myers gets you so embroiled that you’d best put aside a good few hours to see this one through. An excellent debut.

The New Zealand Herald

[Myers] has been able to weave time through the story with infinite skill.

The Timaru Herald

Funny, sad, sexy, and filled with characters the reader will not easily forget, The Second Favorite Son carves out a place in Southern fiction and establishes Mr. Myers as a first-rate storyteller and social observer.

Ben Greer, author of Time Loves a Hero and Slammer

Awesomely assured. Rich, complex, mysterious and always compelling. Part family saga, part alternative history, part murder mystery and part love story... throw out your precious genre categories, this book is bigger than them all.

Mike Johnson, author of Stench and Counterpart

Daniel Myers knows all the right moves and in this breakthrough novel has used every one of them. The Second Favorite Son is quite simply one of the best books of the year.

Wade Tabor, author of The Long-range Plan

This book is fantastically written. Mr Myers is a master writer with a great sense for humor. It's a very capturing tale he tells, a very rich and complex story with great detail. I love the book and highly recommend it.

Anders Blomqvist, author of Smile

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